June 20, 2008. A new game was brought forward from EA and DICE – Battlefield: Bad Company. It brought forth a different way of combat, unlike the majority of first person shooter games in its genre. Battlefield was a largely PC based series, and this was bringing it to the consoles. The single player revolved not around just missions, but an actual story. The misfits of B-Company were thrown into a battle of their own, taking us with them. A small group of soldiers who could give us a chuckle as we shot down a few enemy snipers. It was a mad world, but the four members of group could keep you going for hours. Online was equally appealing, with large maps such as Heavy Metal, but bringing a more relaxed game from the styles of Call of Duty 4, released that same year. Even Solid Snake couldn’t resist finding his way into this world.

February 26, 2010. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was released. Not only were we instantly enthralled by the newer graphics, but the gameplay was an incredible experience. An all new story, the same unforgettable characters, and an intense multiplayer. With newer weapons, vehicles, and some cool explosions, Bad Company 2 was a challenge to other games in the genre, with an ever changing style of shooting. Squads of friends were made, vehicles blown sky high with tank mines, and who could ever forget the Waltz of Destruction?

This year, we’re getting a whole new experience. Although we are leaving Preston Marlowe and our friends in Bad Company behind, we are heading into one of the most epic looking shooters of our time. A new era is being ushered in. It is known as Battlefield 3.

At Gamescom 2011, we got a sneak preview of the conquest map for the upcoming game, known as Caspian Border (I highly advise you to click that, AWESOME trailer!) The first big thing to notice – 64 player conquest. For the most part, the only time you ever see 64 players in one match is on PC game servers. An exception to this was the Playstation 3 exclusive, MAG (Massive Action Game), which supported up to 256 players. But the level of gameplay is nowhere near that of Battlefield. The second biggest change – Jets. We were introduced to choppers and Apaches, but this is a real game changer.

Not only will you be fighting on land with tanks and a few helicopters, but soaring through the sky with fast jets, trying to shoot down the enemy before they get a hold of your base. While watching the trailer, we get to see many jets dog fighting in the air – something we haven’t seen in too many popular games. They also appear to have heat seeking or lock-on cruise missiles. With this it also appears you can do flips. This should add an interesting aspect for combat, one I had wished had been in Star Wars Battlefront, when there were land and space battles, but nothing with both. This was just the start of the trailer though.

The graphics are nicely up to date and at the highest quality – something to expect nothing less of from the developers of Battlefield now, as they have shown us some superior pixels in the past, most notably Bad Company 2, where you could blow an entire building apart without losing a single frame. With the new graphics comes a different knifing animation. No longer raising your arm up for a stab, you actually grab an enemy and use a little more force.

From just the trailers, not much can be said for guns yet. I do see an M4A1, but it’s hard to see any big changes in the combat. I do note RPG reload speed is much faster, which from my view is for the sheer amount of vehicles you might be fending off.

If you do watch the trailer, there is a point when a little machine is rolling through the street, bumping into a wall. This reminds me quite heavily of the Metal Gear Mk. II.

It begins the thought of their being little things to sneak around with. Perhaps you will be able to use this tiny vehicle to sneak into a base, and take out the enemy from the legs. Although its unclear, I expect this could be a neat toy to play with during a fun fight. There are no details on it yet, but keep on the lookout for these little guys.

So far I believe the biggest reason for keeping an eye on Battlefield 3, is for the vehicles alone. It’s a great change from the straight shooting of Call of Duty, and makes for some casual, but fantastic gameplay. We can’t forget the fun things – Explosions! This trailer lacks none of the original appeal of simply blowing a tank sky high, and it appears the explosion are even BIGGER now.

Gamescom 2011 isn’t over yet, so keep on the lookout for this great new title, rightfully challenging any upcoming first person shooter, and expect some great new features to keep popping up as the launch nears. Check out their Co-op multiplayer trailer too!

FallenAngelEyes was lucky enough to go to Gamescom 2011, and got us some pictures, including the one of the jet at the top!

A large replica jet with pilots on the floor in the EA area for Battlefield 3